If you can bear through this long story, I would appreciate it. I think it's worth investigating and exposing these crooks....
I used Golan's Moving and Storage to move from Chicago to the suburbs. The move took longer than originally quoted, they didn't use the tape and packing materials I asked them to, they damaged lamps and furniture, and last but not least, THEY STOLE FROM ME!!!
My iPad and printer were stolen by one of their illegal workers. I had overwhelming proof that it was indeed one of their employees and they said they were not responsible for the iPad. the printer was returned to me due to what they called a "miscommunication". I was told to file a police report for the stolen iPad so I did. Bottom line there is that the police have better things to do than worry about a stolen iPad, so the iPad was never seen again.
Regarding the broken lamps and damaged furniture; I was told to go through their claims process... This was quite possibly the most aggrevating part of the whole ordeal. The claim took over 4 months before I could even get someone on the phone to explain what the status was. I must have made over 25 calls to their "3rd party claim proccessing company". The first time I called I was given the name of the woman who was working on the "claim" and was told she was not in the office. I thought to myself, ok, she is not available today so I will try again soon. The messed up part is the next 24 times I called this so called woman was either not in the office or unavailable. I was getting nowhere with this so I decided to try calling the skokie office to speak with the branch manager. The manager at the skokie office is a woman by the name of Julie Gold. When I tried to explain the situation to her and stated I wanted my money back for the move, she just laughed and said, "that's never gonna happen" and then hung up on me. I couldn't even believe how disrespectful and unprofessional she was.
At this point I was furious. I started to research what legal recourse I had and needless to say I wasn't pleased with what I was finding. At the very most, I could take them to small claims court. In small claims court, even if a judgement is passed there is still no gaurantee they will pay up. I didn't have the time or money to take them to court so I was forced to sit for almost 6 MONTHS while my "claim" was being "processed". The total amount of the stolen iPad and damaged belongings I totaled up came out to be well over $1000 (almost as much as I paid for the move itself). But when I finally got something back from the "CLAIMS PROCESSING CENTER (somewhere in New Jersey)" they offered me less than $200 for all the trouble I had gone through. Obviously, Golan's and this "CLAIMS PROCESSING CENTER" are working together.
My last resort was filing a claim with the BBB (better business bureau) but it was useless as there is no one actually mediating any disputes. It's all automated.
HERE IS THE BOTTOM LINE: IF YOU WANT TO BE LIED TO, HAVE YOUR BELONGINGS DAMAGED AND HAVE THEM STEAL YOUR EXPENSIVE ELECTRONICS AND NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY OF IT, THEN USE THIS COMPANY!!! THEY ARE CROOKS AND THIEVES AND ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED!!! THIS WAS ONE OF THE WORST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE. AND I THINK PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW NOT TO USE GOLAN'S MOVING AND STORAGE FOR ANY REASON. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU OR ANY OF YOUR THINGS. THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY!!!!!
I will be sure to post this review on other sites so people are aware of these cowards and frauds. I'm sure someone from Golan's will post something below my review saying something to the effect of: "We are sorry this happened", or "We would never do something like this to a customer".... Any attempt on their part to try and refute anything I've written here or to try and make themselves look better will just be further proof of their unprofessionalism, disrespectfulness and proof they just don't care. The fact of the matter is, these people are just criminals with a business license and unfortunately, are protected by the transportation industry which is hardly regulated and works in favor of companies like Golan's. The people responsible for Golan's Moving and Storage are:
Owner: Naftali Garber
Managing Director: Julie Gold
Oh, and on another note, after doing my research I found I wasn't the first person they did this to. They should be held responsible for their actions but unfortunately we live in a cynical world which favors big business over the little guy.
Golan's Moving & Storage Reviews
Hi,
If you can bear through this long story, I would appreciate it. I think it's worth investigating and exposing these crooks....
I used Golan's Moving and Storage to move from Chicago to the suburbs. The move took longer than originally quoted, they didn't use the tape and packing materials I asked them to, they damaged lamps and furniture, and last but not least, THEY STOLE FROM ME!!!
My iPad and printer were stolen by one of their illegal workers. I had overwhelming proof that it was indeed one of their employees and they said they were not responsible for the iPad. the printer was returned to me due to what they called a "miscommunication". I was told to file a police report for the stolen iPad so I did. Bottom line there is that the police have better things to do than worry about a stolen iPad, so the iPad was never seen again.
Regarding the broken lamps and damaged furniture; I was told to go through their claims process... This was quite possibly the most aggrevating part of the whole ordeal. The claim took over 4 months before I could even get someone on the phone to explain what the status was. I must have made over 25 calls to their "3rd party claim proccessing company". The first time I called I was given the name of the woman who was working on the "claim" and was told she was not in the office. I thought to myself, ok, she is not available today so I will try again soon. The messed up part is the next 24 times I called this so called woman was either not in the office or unavailable. I was getting nowhere with this so I decided to try calling the skokie office to speak with the branch manager. The manager at the skokie office is a woman by the name of Julie Gold. When I tried to explain the situation to her and stated I wanted my money back for the move, she just laughed and said, "that's never gonna happen" and then hung up on me. I couldn't even believe how disrespectful and unprofessional she was.
At this point I was furious. I started to research what legal recourse I had and needless to say I wasn't pleased with what I was finding. At the very most, I could take them to small claims court. In small claims court, even if a judgement is passed there is still no gaurantee they will pay up. I didn't have the time or money to take them to court so I was forced to sit for almost 6 MONTHS while my "claim" was being "processed". The total amount of the stolen iPad and damaged belongings I totaled up came out to be well over $1000 (almost as much as I paid for the move itself). But when I finally got something back from the "CLAIMS PROCESSING CENTER (somewhere in New Jersey)" they offered me less than $200 for all the trouble I had gone through. Obviously, Golan's and this "CLAIMS PROCESSING CENTER" are working together.
My last resort was filing a claim with the BBB (better business bureau) but it was useless as there is no one actually mediating any disputes. It's all automated.
HERE IS THE BOTTOM LINE: IF YOU WANT TO BE LIED TO, HAVE YOUR BELONGINGS DAMAGED AND HAVE THEM STEAL YOUR EXPENSIVE ELECTRONICS AND NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY OF IT, THEN USE THIS COMPANY!!! THEY ARE CROOKS AND THIEVES AND ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED!!! THIS WAS ONE OF THE WORST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE. AND I THINK PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW NOT TO USE GOLAN'S MOVING AND STORAGE FOR ANY REASON. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU OR ANY OF YOUR THINGS. THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY!!!!!
I will be sure to post this review on other sites so people are aware of these cowards and frauds. I'm sure someone from Golan's will post something below my review saying something to the effect of: "We are sorry this happened", or "We would never do something like this to a customer".... Any attempt on their part to try and refute anything I've written here or to try and make themselves look better will just be further proof of their unprofessionalism, disrespectfulness and proof they just don't care. The fact of the matter is, these people are just criminals with a business license and unfortunately, are protected by the transportation industry which is hardly regulated and works in favor of companies like Golan's. The people responsible for Golan's Moving and Storage are:
Owner: Naftali Garber
Managing Director: Julie Gold
Oh, and on another note, after doing my research I found I wasn't the first person they did this to. They should be held responsible for their actions but unfortunately we live in a cynical world which favors big business over the little guy.